A Little Fall of Rain?
by WeAllHaveAnEscape
Summary: What if Eponine lived? Marius/Eponine! Gavroche/Eponine-SIBLING love. Adopted from Little-miss-laughs-alot by WeAllHaveAnEscape and MissFiyerabaMeponine. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello there you lovely people! as some of you will know this story was originally written by Little-miss-laughs-alot, but has now been adopted by myself and MissFiyerabaMeponine. I'd like to think we'll do a good job of continuing this brilliant story, but you can be the judges of that :) Bit of a short chapter I'm afraid, but they will be longer in future (we hope) Continued from where it was left off :)**

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**This is an urgent appeal. Just one click of a 'review' button can help two authors feel good about themselves for a day, free of charge. Go on. You know you want to. Search deep, deep inside yourselves ;)**

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"He... he is?" Marius asked, a smile forming on his lips. Gavroche nodded happily.

"Where is he? Is he alright?" Éponine asked her brother.

"'E's in the 'ospital, accordin' ta some women I 'eard talkin' about 'im." He told them, grinning from ear to ear.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" said Éponine, "Let's go see him!" The trio got up and, after telling Mme. Marque where they were heading, went to the hospital to see Courfeyrac.

The journey took a little longer than expected, for whilst Éponine was comfortably moving around, she couldn't go any faster than a walk. Gavroche didn't stop talking the whole time, causing the two older ones to smile.

Marius glanced sideways at Éponine a lot, clearly concerned for her welfare. He wondered how Courfeyrac would be - he was one of the last to be shot, so clearly he wasn't going to be up to much.

One thought in particular worried Marius more than any - would Courfeyrac be angry at him for being the one alive to not come back to the barricade? He hadn't been anywhere near the site after he was saved - whenever he found himself near it, his legs took him down a route further away. If he'd gone back, would he have found him?

Éponine diverted her attention from her brother to look at Marius. "Centime for your thoughts?"

"I think they might be worth more than that."

"Franc, then."

Marius smiled at her. "I'm just a bit worried to see him, in all honesty. Will he be angry with me for not coming back?"

"I doubt that. He probably doesn't even know you're alive, after all, you thought he was dead, so he likely thought the same about you" Éponine mused, not really sure what he'd think either.

"Whatever happens, I'm sure he'll be glad to see a friend alive. I hardly think he'll dislike you for not dying."

"Fair point."

They fell into a comfortable silence, Gavroche leading the way. "How much further?" Éponine asked, she'd not walked so far in quite a while, her ribs beginning to twinge a bit.

"Dunno, don't think it's tha' far now."

Marius looked down at Éponine once again, and touched her arm lightly. "We can stop for a minute if you want" he offered.

"Whilst Courfeyrac is in hospital after almost dying? I'm not stopping yet!"

Marius smiled. "Alright, alright. But if they start to hurt, tell one of us."

"Fine."

Gavroche turned around. "We're almost there now, th' woman said it was just 'round th' corner" he said, walking backwards as he spoke. Éponine and Marius nodded, and the walk continued.

By the time they got there, it had been an hour - clearly the hospital wasn't quite as close as Gavroche had thought. But it had been a pleasant journey all the same.

"We're here to see Monsieur Courfeyrac" Marius told the woman behind the counter. She gave a tight lipped nod and pointed down the corridor, barely looking at them.

Gavroche frowned at her, as if to say something, but Éponine just grabbed his arm and pulled him away before he said anything. "Don't anger her, we'll get thrown out!" she hissed, as they caught up with Marius. Gavroche scowled but nodded.

Marius walked hesitantly into a ward. He took Éponine's hand, needing something to hold on to as they walked further into the ward. Éponine squeezed his reassuringly, guessing he must be nervous about seeing an old friend again.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This chapter was brought to you by other lovely MissFiyerabaMeponine. Enjoy!

It would be hard to put into words the several emotions that passed through the trio as they took in the beaten and battered face of Courfeyrac as he lay motionless–save for the slight rise and fall of his chest as he breathed (the only visible sign that he was alive)–in that hospital bed. He barely looked alive. His face was covered in cuts, possibly from a National Guardsman's bayonet, and his chest and part of his torso was wrapped in bandages (he'd clearly been shot more than once). It was hard for them to see him that way. Courfeyrac, who had always been so strong, now looked utterly defenseless. He no longer looked like the man they had seen on so many occasions, be it flirting with a girl, or speaking at one of the Les Amis de l'ABC meetings. The barricade had changed him. And that was just on the outside. There was no telling what mental change there would be, not until he woke up. The trio knew that there would be a change, for that's what Insurrections do: they make change. Change in politics, change in the way the People think. But aside from the Insurrection itself, the deaths of all of his friends would be enough to change him. Marius could sympathise with Courfeyrac on that, but only to a degree. As you well know, Marius had not been present when the barricade had been taken, he had not witnessed the deaths of his friends. Courfeyrac had. He was there, he had seen what Marius had not. To see those whom you care for die before your eyes is dreadful. That alone is enough to change a man, nevermind the Insurrection.

It was hard for Marius to see Courfeyrac in this state. On several occasions, Marius had lived with Courfeyrac. Courfeyrac had given him a home, had lended him a few francs here and there. He was one of Marius' best friends. But that was not the only thing that made it hard for Marius to see him, there was one thought that kept resurfacing in Marius' mind: it could have been him. Marius himself could have been in the same state as Courfeyrac, or worse: he could have died. Éponine was the only reason that Marius was alive, the same went for Gavroche. Both Marius and Gavroche had only left the barricade because Éponine had been shot. If not for her, they would have stayed and fought and died with their friends. That's not to say that they blamed Éponine, of course not! It had been their choice to take her to safety, but the 'what if's stayed in their minds.

Gavroche, as we have just said, had the same thought as Marius: it could have been him. For as we have just said, Gavroche wouldn't have left the barricade either. Like Marius, Gavroche also had a special bond with Courfeyrac. Courfeyrac was a very giving person by nature. He had helped Gavroche several times and had become almost like a brother to the young boy. This made it hard for Gavroche to see Courfeyrac so motionless in the hospital bed. Gavroche, who was normally so fearless, was scared that Courfeyrac would not pull through.

Éponine felt guilty. She was the reason why Gavroche and Marius had left the barricade, she was the reason why they felt so bad right now. Or, at least, that's what she kept telling herself. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to regret not dying. Really, who could? She couldn't regret her life now, not when she was actually happy for once.

Courfeyrac's eyes flickered for a moment, as if he was about to wake, but remained closed. For a moment, no one spoke. It was rather eerie, in a way. The silence was broken only by the sound of a bird chirping, easily audible as the window in the room was open.

Gavroche was the first to break the silence.

"'Ello Courfeyrac." he said quietly. Courfeyrac did nothing to acknowledge that he had heard the boy.

"We're glad that you're alive." Éponine chimed in.

"Really glad..." Marius added, unable to take his eyes off of his friend.

For the next hour or so they continued to talk to him as if he were awake, in hopes that maybe he would hear them and wake up. He did not. They returned the next day and there was still no change, no sign that he would ever wake. It was terrifying.

A week passed, and though it seemed that Courfeyrac was out of the woods, it did not seem likely–at least, not to the trio–that Courfeyrac would ever wake up. But they tried not to give up hope. Hope is a necessity in life, for without hope each day looks grey, the glass is only ever half empty, the sun will never rise, and the world is a mighty stranger. But hope brings the dawn of a new day and gives us the strength to journey on. Hope gives us a brighter outlook on life. Hope is what helps us to believe. And so, with hope in their hearts, Éponine, Marius, and Gavroche stood by Courfeyrac's hospital bed, wanting to believe more than anything that he would wake. They continued to talk to him, hoping that he could hear them.

One rainy Tuesday, as Marius, Eponine, and Gavroche were visiting with Courfeyrac, the change they had been waiting for finally happened. Courfeyrac's eyes flickered and then opened. Courfeyrac was awake.


End file.
